Shoe heel protector



March 20, 1962 R. A. RIZZONELLI SHOE HEEL PROTECTOR Filed Nov. 7, 1960 INVENTOR. 0.55 4 fizzava u efiwmys United btates Patent Giliice 3,625,617 Patented Mar. 26, 1982 3,025,617 SHUE HEEL PRUTECTOR Rose A. Rizzonelli, 16953 S. Hobart Blvd., Los Angelles, Calif. Filed Nov. 7, 1960, Ser. No. 67,667 '7 Claims. ((31. 3672) This invention relates generally to protective covers for footwear and more particularly to a soil and scuff preventing sheath for the heel and back portions of womens shoes.

In many activities and particularly in the driving of automobiles, the heels and the back portions of womens shoes may become scuffed and dirtied from the floor pads of automobiles or other surfaces against which they may rub. It is desired to protect against such sending or soiling of the shoe with a minimum of inconvenience to the wearer, and while substantially retaining the attractive appearance and color scheme of the shoe. It is also desired to have a light weight construction which may be readily slipped on and off of the rear portion of the shoe and which will occupy a minimum of space when not in use.

it is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide an improved protector for the heel and back portions of Womens shoes.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved heel and back protector for womens shoes of a one piece, light weight construction which may be readily slipped on and off of the shoe.

A further object of the invention is an improved heel and back protector for womens shoes providing a sheath having a sleeve for the heel with an open bottom through which the tip of the heel may directly engage a supporting surface and an upper portion integral with the sleeve and extending upwardly about the back of the shoe.

Yet another object of the invention is an improved protector for the heel and back of womens shoes formed from a one piece blank of transparent sheet plastic and providing a sheath having a sleeve for the heel seamed at the front and back and a seamless, integral portion extending upwardly from the sleeve to cover the back of the shoe.

These and other objects and features of the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description of a presently preferred embodiment of the invention and the appended drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a womans shoe with the protector of the present invention in place thereon.

FIGURE 2. is a perspective view of the protector of this invention taken generally from the front thereof.

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view of the protector flattened out as it might be stored.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view of the heel enclosing sleeve portion of the protector taken on the line 4-4 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 5 is a view showing the one piece sheet plastic blank from which a protector is formed.

FIGURE 6 is a transverse sectional view of the flattened protector taken on line 66 of FIGURE 3.

In FIGURE 1 there is shown a lady's shoe 11 having a back portion 12, rear side portions 13 and a spike heel 14. About the heel and rear portion of the shoe is disposed a protective cover or sheath preferably formed of a self-supporting sheet plastic material, for example a transparent polyvinyl acetate. This protector is indicated generally at 15 and comprises a generally conically shaped sleeve 16 surrounding the heel 14: and having an integral upwardly extending portion 17, open at the front and having a seamless back portion following the contour of the back of the shoe. The upwardly extending portion 17 covers both the back portion 12 and the rear side portions 13 of the shoe 11 and extends upwardly to an edge 18 above the upper back edge of the shoe along the heel of the wearer. The edge 18 at the back and at the sides of the protector adjacent thereto, provides a finger grip by which the protector may be drawn onto the shoe.

The bottom of the sleeve 16 is open as at 19 and through this open bottom the tip 21 of the heel 14 may directly engage a supporting surface.

The protective sheath 15 is so proportioned that the upper portion 17 thereof will tightly grip the rear sides and/ or the back of the shoe when the protector is slipped on the shoe in its full upward position, as shown in FIGURE 1, and the protector will be held on the shoe by its frictional engagement therewith. This retention of the protector on the shoe is aided by the flexibility and limited resiliency of the material from which it is made which enables it to conform closely to the configuration of the shoe. The plastic sheet material is selected sufficiently thick so that the sheath when opened is substantially self-supporting and resistant to a crumpling movement of the sleeve portion 16 upwardly on the spike heel 1d. The protector will thus be normally maintained in the position shown in FIGURE 1 unless it is deliberately removed from the shoe.

The one piece plastic sheet blank from which the protector is formed is shown in FIGURE 5'. This blank is indicated generally at 22 and has a pair of divergent legs 23 and 24 which are joined together to form the sides of the protector. The remote edges 25 and 26 of the legs 23 and 24 are joined together to form the front seam of the sleeve 16 while the adjacent edges 27 and 28 are joined to form the rear seam thereof. The edges '2527 and 2628 converge, as shown in FIGURE 5, to form the conical configuration for the sleeve 16. The legs 23 and 24 are integrally joined by an upper apron 29. The dot-dash line 31 bisects the blank and represents the rear edge 21) of the back of the protector. The edges of the apron 29 is curved, as shown in FIGURE 5, so that the assembled protector embraces the side and rear of the shoe in the manner shown in FIGURE 1.

In assembling the protector, the blank 22 is folded about the median line 31, inside out, to engage the legs 23 and 24 which are complementary, the one being a substantially mirror image of the other about the median line 31. The edges 27 and 28 are then joined together to form the back seam 32 as by stitching, gluing, heat sticking, cementing, or in any other desired manner. The sides of the blank are then reversed to place the right side outwith the seam 32 directed inwardly of the sleeve 16 and the edges 25 and 26 are joined to form the external seam 33 which extends forwardly of the sleeve 16 and is located beneath the shoe where it is relatively inconspicuous.

It is thus seen that the protector of the present invention provides a sheath formed from a one piece blank cut. from a relatively thin sheet of material, preferably a plastic such as a polyvinyl acetate or like material. The back of the protector presents a smooth contour, being seamless in that portion which encloses the back of the shoe and having a concealed inner seam in that portion forming the sleeve for the heal. At its front the protector has a short lower external seam at 33 which is located in front of the heel under the shank of the shoe in a relatively inconspicuous position and an upper opening from the point A to the upper tip B of the protector. The point A is located beneath the shoe at the junction between the shank of the shoe and the breast of the heel and the point B extends upwardly above the back of the shoe adjacent the heel of the wearer. The portion 17 of the protector between the points A and B extends forwardly of the back edge 29 to engage the opposite rear sides of the shoe.

The upper end of the seam 32 is indicated at point C and the seamless back portion of the protector extends upwardly and forwardly from point C to point B in conformance with the contour of the back of the shoe. The seam 32 follows, in a general fashion, the downwardly and forwardly extending contour of the spike heel 14.

The protector is light weight and may be readily slipped over the back of the shoe and the heel thereof by a pulling force applied, for example, at the edge 18. It Will be retained on the shoe by its frictional engagement with the sides and/ or back thereof, but may be readily slid off of the shoe, when desired, with little efiort. It may then be flattened and/or folded, and stored in the wearers purse, the glove compartment of the automobile or other convenient place and in this condition will occupy a minimum of space.

While in some instances it may be desired to form the protector in pleasing colors which may be selected to match the wearers costume, it will usually be more con venient to adapt it for universal use by making it from a transparent plastic sheet through which the color of the shoe itself may be seen.

While a presently preferred embodiment of the invention has been specifically illustrated and described, it will be understood that the invention is not limited thereto, as many variations will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art and the invention is to be given its broadest interpretation within the terms of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A protector for the heel and back of a shoe comprising: a sheath formed from a one piece plastic sheet blank and having a seamed, generally tubular portion to enclose the heel of a shoe; an upper portion integral with said tubular portion and having a seamless back conforming to the contour of the back of substantially the entire shoe and an open front; and side portions between the front and back edges of said upper portion which engage the rear sides of the shoe.

2. A protector for the heel and back of a shoe comprising: a sheath formed from a one piece plastic sheet blank and having a seamed, generally tubular portion to enclose the heel of a shoe; an upper portion integral with said tubular portion and having a seamless back conforming to the contour of the back of the shoe and an open front; side portions between the front and back edges of said upper portion which engage the rear sides of the shoe; and a back seam defining said tubular portion extending downwardly and forwardly from the lower edge of said seamless upper portion and being disposed within the tubular portion so as to present a smooth back surface.

3. A protector for the heel and back of a shoe comprising: a sheath formed from a one piece plastic sheet blank and having a seamed, generally tubular portion to enclose the heel of a shoe; an upper portion integral with said tubular portion and having a seamless back conforming to the contour of the back of the shoe and an open front; side portions between the front and back edges of said upper portion which engage the rear sides of the shoe; a back seam defining said tubular portion extending downwardly and forwardly from the lower edge of said seamless upper portion and being disposed within the tubular portion so as to present a smooth back surface; and a front seam defining said tubular portion and disposed exteriorly thereof for location under the shank of the shoe in a relatively inconspicuous po sition 4. A protector for the heel and back of a shoe comprising: a sheath formed from a one piece plastic sheet blank and having a seamed, generally tubular portion to enclose the heel of a shoe; and an upper portion integral with said tubular portion and having a seamless back conforming to the contour of substantially the back of the entire shoe' and an open front; and side portions between the front and back edges of said upper portion which engage the rear sides of the shoe, said plastic sheet being flexible but substantially self-supporting and having a limited elasticity so that the protector will engage the shoe snugly to inhibit involuntary removal of the protector therefrom.

5. A protector for the heel and back of a shoe comprising: a sheath formed from a one piece plastic sheet blank and having a seamed, generally tubular portion to enclose the heel of a shoe; an upper portion integral with said tubular portion and having a seamless back conforming to the contour of substantially the entire back of the shoe and an open front; and side portions between the front and back edges of said upper portion which engage the rear sides of the shoe, the bottom of said tubular portion being open to enable the tip of the heel to directly engage a supporting surface.

6. A protector for the heel and back of a shoe comprising: a sheath formed from a single piece of sheet plastic and having an upper portion with a seamless back substantially conforming to the contour of the entire back of the shoe and open toward the front to embrace the rear sides of the shoe; and a heel enclosing portion integrally joined to said upper portion and having front and back seams and an open bottom through which the tip of the heel may directly engage a supporting sur face, the edge of said upper portion extending an appreciable distance above the back of the shoe and providing a finger grip by which the protector may be pulled onto the shoe.

7. A protector for the heel and back of a shoe comprising: integrally joined upper and lower sheath portions, said upper sheath portion having a seamless back substantially conforming to the contour of the entire back of the shoe and having an open front receiving said shoe so that the sides of the upper portion engage the rear sides of the shoe, said lower sheath portion defining an enclosure for the heel of the shoe having an open bottom through which the tip of the heel may directly engage a supporting surface; and front and back seams on said lower sheath portion, said back seam being disposed inwardly of said heel enclosure so as to present a smooth surface at the back of the protector, said front seam being disposed at the exterior of said heel enclosure for location under the shank of the shoe in a relatively inconspicuous position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES P TENTS 1,816,784 McDermott July 28, 1931 1,828,246 Destro Oct. 20, 1931 1,841,027 Gruber Jan. 12, 1932 1,945,420 Charles Jan. 30, 1934 2,763,938 Kays et al. Sept. 25, 1956 2,894,339 Shapiro July 14, 1959 2,915,836 McDonough Dec. 8, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 620,851 France Jan. 25, 1927 1,129,874 France Sept. 10, 1956 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,025,617 March 20, 1962 Rose A. Rizzonelli It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 3, line 38, for "of the back of substantially the entire" read of substantially the entire back of the column 4, lines 6 and 7, for "the back of the entire shoe" read the entire back of the shoe Signed and sealed this 10th day 01" July 1962.

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST w. SWIDER DAVID LAD Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

